ROCKFORD — A choppy stretch of Auburn Street will get much-needed repairs this summer.

Rockford plans to resurface Auburn from Pauline Avenue to the creek crossing, not including the Kilburn Avenue intersection, and from Irving Avenue to North Central Avenue. Roughly 13,500 people a day drive those stretches of Auburn, according to Illinois Department of Transportation daily traffic count data.

The city plans to put the project out for bid later this spring. Construction would begin this summer. The estimated cost is $850,000, funded by the city’s 1 percent sales tax.

Westside resident James DeVoe said improvements on Auburn and other westside roads are long overdue. The West Gateway Coalition president said neglected roads can chase away business and private investment by giving the wrong impression about the area.

“You drive down a street that’s full of potholes and disarray and needs immediate repair, that’s a perception that nobody cares about the neighborhood,” DeVoe said. “That’s wrong. There’s a lot of people that care.”

The 2014 capital plan calls for the city to spend about $15 million in sales taxes and $3 million in motor fuel tax funds on street, bridge and infrastructure repairs. The plan includes resurfacing a portion of Broadway, rebuilding the Harrison Avenue bridge deck and several improvements in conjunction with the state’s reconstruction of South Main and West State streets, to name a few.

Ald. Ann Thompson-Kelly, D-7, said patchwork fixes to Auburn over the years have only exacerbated the poor road condition. She’s pleased to see the Auburn repairs in this year’s capital plan, but said it needs even more attention.

“It’s 10 years late,” Thompson-Kelly said. “I’m hoping that (Auburn) will stay in the CIP for the next five years because it’s desperately needed.”